Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. The delays will become a significant problem and they continue to escalate. These small plantations need to be accessed for harvesting. The European Court of Justice decision was taken but it has left us in a ludicrous position. I am an environmentalist but the Minister of State and I, as well as anybody with a bit of common sense, know that if a person wants to harvest a small plantation, the environmental impact on the surrounding area depends on the scale and would be smaller with a smaller plantation. This is bananas. Is it possible to get some of the bureaucrats in Europe to look at some of these plantations? We cannot treat a small plantation in the same way as one that is 40 or 50 times its size. This is a real problem that must be tackled at the European level. I accept a case was taken and won, with the European Court of Justice making its ruling. It is the reason I have put the question. This will create major blockages. There must be an environmental impact assessment of a 15 km radius of each plantation. It is bananas.

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